Some municipalities in Manitoba are demanding the provincial government provide funding to compensate for the money spent on preparations for a flood that never came.

RM of Morris may follow suit after spending around $120,000 on sandbags, gravel, labour, and equipment, said Reeve Ralph Groening.

"The RM of Morris responded to the forecast presented to us by the Province of Manitoba that indicated that we were probably looking at a pretty significant flood event this spring, and so we made preparations appropriate to the flood forecast at the time," he said.

The expenses will be submitted to Manitoba's Emergency Measures Organization for review to determine the value of expenses. After, Groening says they will discuss the next step, which may then entail reaching out to the provincial government for reimbursement.

"We'll discuss how we can best mitigate the impact to our taxpayers because we do have expenses and we just want to deal with the province and deal with the EMO in a respectful fashion, and so we anticipate we'll have a reasonable discussion about how to move forward," Groening said.

He said the municipality's best bet would be to hold the province accountable in its partial role in building the detour for PR 422 near Rosenort, which was meant to serve as an alternative route during a bridge replacement project and in the case of 2009 flood levels hitting the area.

"We might be able to argue that that could and would easily be a shared responsibility. We will have discussions to identify what is the most effective way to deal with those particular costs," he said, adding that the alternative route was part of the $120,000 total cost of flood preparations.

As for now, the sandbags will be put in storage for future use and gravel will remain in place.

Groening said although the RM of Morris does not currently have a reserve for flood expenditures, this may be something Council will consider creating in the future. Additionally, they have been in contact with Minister of Infrastructure Ron Schuler to discuss improving the effectiveness and timeliness of flood forecasting in order to avoid unnecessary spending moving forward.

"I think what happened this spring would be great motivation for us, together with the Province of Manitoba, to find a way in which they can provide us with the best, most accurate, effective information so that we can altogether work to protect our citizens in the event of a flood," Groening said.

Related article: R.M. Of Morris Opts To Build Up Rural Roads In Attempt To Get Ahead Of Flood Waters